Arms and Armor in the Age of the Musketeer
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Project Number: 48-JLS-0046 ARMS AND ARMOR IN THE AGE OF THE MUSKETEER An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By Miguel Adelino Ty Bailey Justin Gelito Christopher Teixeira Chatura Weliwitigoda Date: May 3, 2005 1. Armor 2. Arms 3. 17th Century Professor Jeffrey Forgeng, Advisor Contents Abstract……………………………….... …………………………………………3 Introduction…………………………….. …………………………………………4 The Thirty Years’ War…………………. …………………………………………7 The English Civil War…………………. ………………………………………..22 17th Century Commerce and Conflict….. ………………………………………..36 A General History of Technology……… ………………………………………..43 17th Century Weapons………………….. ………………………………………..73 17th Century Armor…………………….. ………………………………………..93 Military Tactics………………………… ………………………………………106 Conclusion……………………………... ………………………………………122 Appendix: Website/Visual Component... ………………………………………126 About the Authors…….………………... ………………………………………128 Statements of Procedure...……………... ………………………………………130 Glossary………………………………... ………………………………………134 Annotated Bibliography………………... ………………………………………139 2 2 Abstract The 17th Century saw a great transition as gunpowder and firearms were being developed. This work researches the changes and trends set by the advancements of firearms, and the emergence of armies utilizing these firearms. Examination of sources from the 17th century, as well as inspection of artifacts dating from the 17th century housed in the Higgins Armory, is presented within the work as well as an internet site with an interactive feature highlighting regionally unique weapons and armor. 3 3 Introduction The Higgins Armory Museum enjoys the distinction of being the only museum in the Western Hemisphere entirely devoted to the study and display of arms and armor. The museum offers a large collection of arms and armor from around the globe and from a wide range of time periods. The curatorial department of the museum wished to have their collection on display for a worldwide audience. This project is a portion of their plan. The focus of our project is the Arms and Armor in the Age of the Musketeer (17th century Europe). During this time, arms and armor were evolving and simultaneously changing the social structure of Europe. This project consisted of a research report, the photographing of artifacts in the museum’s collection, and finally a website devoted to the arms and armor of the 17th century (consistent with the museum’s plan of an online collection). The research report itself is divided into five parts – history, weaponry, armor, technology, and strategy. It is in the Age of the Musketeer that the musket becomes the primary weapon for armies. The usage of firearms drastically changed the manner in which warfare was executed. Armies no longer needed lifelong-trained knights, and grew tremendously due to the ease of training. Battles now involved large masses of soldiers, inciting the need for large-scale organization and strategy. Armor evolved as a result of the increasing firepower. Armor could no longer protect against the projectiles fired from pistols and muskets. Plate armor became largely 4 4 defunct in the late 1600s due to its cumbersome nature and its inability to protect the wearer. Its bulky nature proved to be more of a hindrance when mobility started to take precedence over protection, in conjunction with new military strategies. Because of the growing use of firepower in armies, more efficient ways to produce materials were in demand. Defensive technology was also in need of innovation, as stronger materials had to be made as well as differently designed fortresses and siege campaigns. A shift in primary offensive power was occurring, from hand to hand close- quarters combat involving extensive training to long-range firearms and artillery using moderately trained, less expensive commoners. Because of this shift, military strategy also changed. No longer would hand-to-hand combat be the focus in military training. Primarily, training would emphasize the use of muskets and long-range tactics and formations. Military training that had existed for centuries was totally revamped. The widespread use of muskets also proved to be quite revolutionary. It allowed for the armament of the masses, in the English Civil War (1642-1651) one sees the first showing of rebellion that will mark the century to come. This project also involved documenting the museum’s artifacts. This phase of the project included the weighing, measuring, describing, and photographing of each artifact that had incomplete information. Altogether, out of the 548 artifacts from the 17th century in the museum’s collection, about 150 artifacts were photographed and described in an eight-week period. The final part of this project is a website for the museum, making the collection of artifacts from the 17th century available to a worldwide audience. The website contains 5 5 the research document, an online catalogue of the artifacts, and a representation of modern technology used to gain the viewer’s attention and enthusiasm. The representation takes form in the manner of a computer game in which the viewer is tested to place artifacts with their respective region of origin. 6 6 The Thirty Years’ War By Ty Bailey One can see from the onset that the Thirty Years' War is high drama at its finest. There are religious fanatics, spies, double crosses and double-double crosses. The largest lesson one can take from the war is that religion always takes the back burner to political gain. It is with this in mind that we begin to look at the causes of the war (or wars, depending on how you look at it). There were many causes but the principal starting point is (like so may other conflicts) a treaty. The treaty of Augsburg was signed in 1555 in the hopes that it would stop further religious wars by allowing the recognition of Lutheranism in the Holy Roman Empire based on the concept of cuius regio eius religio, which roughly translates to “Who owns the land dictates the religion.” It was also established that peasants were allowed to go to lands that shared their own faith. The treaty also stated that all property taken by Lutherans could remain theirs if it had been captured in the three-year period between the Peace of Passau and the treaty of Augsburg. Instead of bringing about a mutual toleration of faith, the treaty actually caused a less visible but more dramatic schism in the Germanic lands. In the noble houses if one brother decided to leave, all of the estate would need to be parceled out, and this led to a great deal of strife and violence. The princes of many provinces saw that the treaty allowed them to secularize large amounts of the land that had once been given to the Church of Rome. In northern Germany, the secularization was nearly total and in the south, the only reason it did not take hold was the strong Catholic faith of the masses. 7 7 Needless to say, the Roman Church did not approve of this power play by the noble class and wished to gain back the land and power that it once held in the German states. The Catholic Church attempted return to the previous status quo by refusing to affirm the treaty of Augsburg in the General Council, which was held in Trent. By doing so, the Church opened up the floodgates for a loaded conflict of faith where the nobility saw a way to expand their authority and wealth while at the same time protecting their faith. A few important foreign political players had an interest in German lands at the onset of the Thirty Years War. Arguably, the most influential of these was Spain. In 1555, Spain was being ruled by Phillip II. Phillip was a devout Catholic and absolute monarch, but most importantly, he was a Hapsburg. The Hapsburgs were very interested in helping the Church in Germany not only for religion but because their empire almost surrounded the French and territorial expansion into German soil would consolidate some of the gains they had made in the Netherlands; and if they could help the Vatican at the same time then all the better. The Spanish were in desperate straights for money; in fact, they went bankrupt in 1557, and also needed to secure their European power base so that they could better focus on their New World holdings. The French were also interested in the German lands, mostly because they saw them as a way to block the ever-present menace of the Hapsburgs. In the eyes of the French, it was a far better idea to have wars fought on other nations' soil, and historically Germany has played the part of the battleground for the rest of Europe. It is with these players in mind that we begin to see the how much of a powder keg the Holy Roman Empire had become. The first match was thrown in the city of Donauworth in 1606. A group of 8 8 Catholics was barred from holding a procession by the town's majority Lutheran population. A riot broke out and was only stopped by the direct intervention of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria, a Catholic. By imperial decree, he was given the task of executing a ban on Donauworth. The Lutherans and especially the Calvinists in Germany became alarmed by this act and formed the Protestant Union in 1607. Maximilian I answered with the Catholic League. Already the Holy Roman Empire was splitting at the seams and all that was needed now was the final push over the edge. The push came in the form of Ferdinand II. Ferdinand was made king of Bohemia in July of 1617 and vowed to rid his lands of heresy. He was approached by the Calvinists of Bohemia to confirm the letter of Majesty that was signed in 1609 which granted wide concession to Protestants.